Rocking wheel chair



Jan. 26, 1965 A. KIEL 3,

ROCKING WHEEL CHAIR Filed Nov. 2, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG] INVENTOR.

LOUISE A. KIEL N ATTORNEY wlllll'lll Jan. 26, 1965 L. A. KlEL 3,167,350

ROCKING WHEEL CHAIR Filed Nov. 2, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

INVENTOR.

LOUISE A. KIEL g MZZ Mmzz ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,167,356Patented Jan. 26, 1965 3,167,350 ROCKING WHEEL CHAIR Louise A. Kiel, 815S. th Ave. W., Newton, Iowa Filed Nov. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 234,988 1Claim. (Cl. 297-267) The present invention relates to an improved wheelchair for invalids and, more particularly, to a wheel chair having abody supporting portion which is rockably mounted relative to thesupporting portion of the chair.

. It is an object of the present invention to produce a wheel chairhaving a rockable body supporting portion.

Another object of the invention is to produce a rocking wheel chairwhich may be readily and economically manufactured.

The objects of the invention may be achieved by an invalid wheel chaircomprising a base, ground engaging wheel means rotatably mounted to thebase, body supporting means, and rocking mechanism interconnecting thebody supporting means at the base, permitting the base to rock to andfro relative to said base.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readilyapparent from reading the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment of the invention in connection with the attached drawings, inwhich- FIG. 1 is an elevational view of an embodiment of the inventionwith parts partially broken away to more clearly illustrate thestructure involved;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the invention taken along line 22 of'FIG.1;

, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the invention taken along line 33 ofFIG. 1;

7 FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the invention taken along line 44 ofFIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of the invention illustrating the mechanismfor militating against any relative movement between the body supportingportion of the chair and the base.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an invalid wheel chair embodying thefeatures of the invention which comprises a base frame having a pair ofparallel spaced horizontally extending side rail members and 12. Therail members 10 and 12 are provided with vertically extending rodmembers 14. The upper portions of the upstanding rod members 14 areprovided with horizontally extending sections which are adapted toreceive handle grips 16.

Cross brace members 18 and 20 extend in parallel relationship to oneanother between the side rails 10 and 12. The brace members 18 and 20have a substantially fiat intermediate section for supporting the seatportion of the wheel chair as will be explained in greater detailhereinafter.

A further cross brace member 22 extends between the side rail members 10and 12, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

The side rail members 10 and 12 are provided with upstanding elements 24and 26, respectively, which at their upper ends have journal or bearingmeans for rotatably supporting associated drive wheels W.

At the forward end of each of the side rails 10 and 12,

theer is an upwardly and forwardly extending curved brace member 28 and30, respectively. On the leading ends of each of brace members 28 and30, there is one end of a horizontal member 32 and 34, respectively. Theopposite ends of the horizontal members 32 and 34 are secured to theupstanding elements 24 and 26, respectively.

The leading ends of the horizontal members 32 and 34 extend slightlybeyond the forward ends of their respective curved brace members 28 and30 and are adapted to support a yoke member 36 which is rotatable abouta vertical axis. A caster wheel 38 is mounted for rotation between thearms of the yoke member 36. As in conventional invalid wheel chairconstruction, there is typically a caster wheel for each side of thestructure, although only a single one is visible in FIG. 1.

It will be understood that the frame assembly of the wheel chair ispreferably formed of tubular metal stock and is secured together at thejunction points by welding. However, other types of construction may beemployed with equally satisfactory results.

The body supporting portion of the wheel chair assembly comprises a seatgenerally indicated at 40, a back generally indicated at 60, and armrests 62. The seat 40 consists of downwardly depending side walls 41,42, 43, and 44, and a horizontally disposed padded seat 45. The bodysupporting portion of the wheel chair assembly is mounted on the frameassembly by means of a base member 46 which is secured to the crossbrace members 18 and 20 by suitable means such as threaded fasteners 47.A pair of base rocker members 48 is secured to the upper surface ofopposite end portions of the base member 46, as clearly illustrated inFIG. 2. A pair of cooperating rocker members 49 are fastened to theinner surface of the downwardly depending side walls 42 and 44 by anysuitable means such as, for example, threaded fasteners 51, illustratedin FIG. 1. The lower curved surface of the rocker members 49 cooperateand rest on the upper curved surface of the base rocker member 48. Theseat portion 45 is maintained in a normal position wherein the forwardend thereof is slightly higher than the rear end by a pair of helicalsprings 52, one pair for each pair of cooperating rocker members 48 and49. The springs 52 are between cooperating flanges 53 and 54. Theflanges 53 are suitably secured to the base rocker members 48, while theflanges 54 are similarly suitably secured to the rocker members 49through cut-away portions of the base member 46. The above-definedstructure enables relative rocking movement of the body supportingportion of the wheel chair with respect to the frame assembly.

The wheel chair is further provided two separate foot and/ or leg restassemblies. A lower foot rest assembly is comprised of a pair ofparallel spaced guides 64 and 66 mounted at the front ends by linkages68 and 70 which depend downwardly from a frame member 72. The rear endsof the guides 64 and 66 are secured to the cross brace member 22. Asliding support panel 74 is adapted to have its marginal side edgessupported by and to slide with the guides 64 and 66. A stop 76 isfastened to the forward end of the panel 74 and is effective to stop theinward movement of the panel 74 when it is in an inoperative positionfully inserted within the guides 64 and 66. Also, the stop 76 providesan enlarged section which may be readily grasped to pull the panel 74into an operative position. An upper foot and/or rest assembly iscomprised of a pair of parallel spaced guides 78 and 80 suitably securedwithin the zone defined by the sides 41, 42, 43, and 44 at an angle tothe horizontal. A sliding support panel 82 is adapted to have itsmarginal edges supported by and to slide on the guides 78 and 80. Thepanel 82 slides through a suitable aperture formed in the side wall 41of the seat to an operative position. When the panel 82 is fullyinserted with the guides 78 and 80, the rear edge of the panel contactsthe inner surface of the side wall 43. In the event it is desired toemploy a longer panel than that illustrated in FIG. 3, the wall 43 isprovided with an aperture to allow the rear end of the panel to slidetherethrough enabling the opposite end of the panel to be flush with theouter surface of the side wall 41. It must be understood that the guides78 and 80 are close enough together to provide suiiicient frictionalengagement with the side edges of the panel 82 to militate against thepanel 82 accidentally sliding out of the guides. Further, it willventional wheel chairs.

. be understood that there are instances where it will b desired tohavethe upper-surface of the panel 82 padded to provide a cushioned surfacefor supporting the users feet and-legs.

I Brake means 84 are mounted to pivot about afpoint 86 suitably securedto thefframe assembly. The brake means 1 84 may'be of any of theconventional types having apertion such as at 88'to frictionally engagethe drivewheel W I to elfectively brake the "wheel chair. A'similarbrake assembly maybe used for, each of'the drive wheels W;

With reference to FIG. 5, thereis shown the mechanism,

- ically illustratedand described, V

for effectively preventing any rocking movement of the I 1 bodysupporting portion of the wheel chair relative to the frame assembly.More specifically, an upstanding arm 90 ispivotally mounted'onthehorizontal member 34. A

helical spring 92 interconnecting the arm 90 and a bracket" 94 biasesthearm 90 in a direction tending tomaintain the arm 90, inanfunlatchedposition relative to latch ,96 mounted on the outer surfaceof the side wall 44 of the seat; By moving the arm '90 into latchingengagement with the latch 96, theseat and the frame assembly becomepositively locked. When'the arm 90 is moved to an unlatched position,the helical springs 52 cause the seat to assume a center positiontwiththe front portion of the" seatslightly higher thanthe back thereof. Inthis position, the occupant of the wheel chair may readily effect arocking movement of the body supporting portion of the chair by merelyslightlyjshifting the upper portion of his torso. t V v I The rockermembers 48 and 49-have been illustrated as each having curved matingsurfaces. However, it should be understood thata slower rocking actionof the body supporting portion 40 of the wheel chair maybe effected bymaking only a single one of the mating surfaces curved;' while the otherwould be substantially flat. For example,

supporting meansincludinga seat portion and a back por-- tion, springcentering rocking mechanism interconnectingthe seatportion of said bodysupporting means and said base, said rocking mechanismnincluding atleast a-pair of;

cooperating curved surface elements, one of said elements connected,tosaid baseiand the othereof said elementscom I nected to said bodysupporting means permitting s aid base to 'rock to and fro relativetosaid vbas e;;locking means for selectively locking 'and unlocking;said-body supporting means-to saidbase, a footrstslidablycarried by theseat portion and movable between aconcealed position within theseatportion and a, projecting active position, and a further footrestslid'ably carried by the base portion and movable between aconcealed position within the base portionanda projecting activeposition.

desired rocking action may be achieved by forming the top surfaces ofthe base'rockermembers 48 as flat, while:

the mating surfaces of the cooperating rocking members 49 are curved asshown in the drawings. 7 A- wheel chair manufacturedin accordance withthe foregoing description has many advantages over the con- Among theadvantages of the. rocking wheel chair construction is that'an occupantwill be able to easily obtain some exercise of his otherwise immobilebody and enable an occupant to occupy the chair:

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES. PATENTS v Re. 8,92'410/77 9- Brada -2 297-265 166,698 8/75 Hildreth 297-267 247,847 10/81Odell 297-261 665,005 a 1/01 Harmon 297-269 X 917,184 4/09' Tate 297-430961,389 6/10- Walker "29 7-267 1,277,886 9/18 Elliman 297-430 X2,606,594 8/52 Calderneyer' 297-269 2,609,864 '9/52- Gates 297-430 X2,623,220 12/52 Voce 5-106 I FOREIGN PATENTS,"

1246,9 39 .11/47 Switzerland. 3 FRANK B. SHERRY,*Primary, Examiner.

CHANCELLQR' E. HARRIS, Examiner,

